"Investors Snapping Up New Blockchain ETFs"

From Moneybeat:

In the absence of a bitcoin exchange-traded funds, investors are snapping up the next-best thing.

Investors have poured almost $180 million combined into two week-old ETFs that buy companies that have invested in blockchain, the technology behind the cryptocurrency. They are the first such ETFs to launch, and have capitalized on the demand for investments pegged to digital currencies. U.S. regulators have resisted other efforts to create bitcoin-linked products.

The Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF, an actively-managed fund with the ticker BLOK, raised $121 million in its first week on the market, trading 2.2 million shares a day Tuesday, according to FactSet. The Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF, with the ticker BLCN, has raised $57.9 million, with more than 900,000 shares traded Tuesday. 

By comparison, other ETFs launched since October trade an average of only 15,000 shares a day, according to an analysis from FactSet.

“It’s been a pleasant surprise,” Christian Magoon, chief executive officer of Amplify ETFs, said at the Inside ETFs conference in Hollywood, Florida.
The Amplify ETF is up 6.4% since its inception net of fees, while the Reality Shares fund is up 3%. The S&P 500 has risen 2.3% in those five trading sessions through Tuesday.

The funds are off to a strong start despite erasing blockchain from their names after a last-minute intervention from the Securities and Exchange Commission....MORE